Name: Sam Adams Sparkling Ale
Style: Blonde Ale
ABV: 4.8%
IBUs: 20
You know winter seasonals wouldn't be complete without some offerings from Sam Adams. I recently came into possession of the Sam Adams Winter Sampler and with it are a few beers that I have never tried before (with the exception of the Boston Lager of course).
The first one I'll be looking at is a fairly new beer if Beer Advocate is to be believed and it is their Sparkling Ale, which is a Blonde Ale. I find it a bit odd considering that winter seasonal beers are usually dark whereas this one is light. Also looking back at the photo itself, I feel like I should've poured this into a flute instead of a standard pint glass. Oh well....
Appearance - Bright yellow color with a high amount of visible carbonation with a fairly foamy white head and some mild lacing.
Aroma - Pale malts, bitter floral hoppiness & cereal grains (not necessarily in the adjunct sense though.) I'm also getting some light malted barley notes as well.
Taste - Floral hops & orange rind followed by some lemongrass, pale malts and malted barley. As for the aftertaste is pretty much all lemongrass with some light pale maltiness.
I really can't say this left too big of a lasting impression on me, but this is certainly a nice sessionable beer. It's certainly a different take on the blonde ale style and, for what it is, it manages to be quite drinkable.
Sam Adams Sparkling Ale - 8/10
